Adjacent Words

Asp definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

'ASP,
ASPAL'ATHUS, n. A plant.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: of southern Europe; similar to but smaller than the adder [syn: asp, asp viper, Vipera aspis]
2: cobra used by the Pharaohs as a symbol of their power over life and death [syn: asp, Egyptian cobra, Naja haje]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ęspe Date: before 12th century aspen II. noun Etymology: Middle English aspis, from Latin, from Greek Date: 14th century a small venomous snake of Egypt usually held to be a cobra (Naja haje)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a small viper, Vipera aspis, native to Southern Europe, resembling the adder. 2 a small venomous snake, Naja haje, native to North Africa and Arabia. Etymology: ME f. OF aspe or L aspis f. Gk

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Asp Asp, n. (Bot.) Same as Aspen. ``Trembling poplar or asp.'' --Martyn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Asp Asp ([.a]sp), n. [L. aspis, fr. Gr. 'aspi`s: cf. OF. aspe, F. aspic.] (Zo["o]l.) A small, hooded, poisonous serpent of Egypt and adjacent countries, whose bite is often fatal. It is the Naja haje. The name is also applied to other poisonous serpents, esp. to Vipera aspis of southern Europe. See Haje.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Aspen Asp"en ([a^]s"p[e^]n), Asp Asp ([.a]sp), n. [AS. [ae]sp, [ae]ps; akin to OHG. aspa, Icel. ["o]sp, Dan. [ae]sp, Sw. asp, D. esp, G. espe, ["a]spe, aspe; cf. Lettish apsa, Lith. apuszis.] (Bot.) One of several species of poplar bearing this name, especially the Populus tremula, so called from the trembling of its leaves, which move with the slightest impulse of the air.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Haye Ha"ye, n. [Ar. hayya snake.] (Zo["o]l.) The Egyptian asp or cobra (Naja haje.) It is related to the cobra of India, and like the latter has the power of inflating its neck into a hood. Its bite is very venomous. It is supposed to be the snake by means of whose bite Cleopatra committed suicide, and hence is sometimes called Cleopatra's snake or asp. See Asp.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Heb. pethen), Deut. 32:33; Job 20:14, 16; Isa. 11:8. It was probably the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje), which was very poisonous (Rom. 3:13; Gr. aspis). The Egyptians worshipped it as the _uraeus_, and it was found in the desert and in the fields. The peace and security of Messiah's reign is represented by the figure of a child playing on the hole of the asp. (See ADDER.)

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(pethen (De 32:33; Job 20:14,16; Isa 11:8); aspis (Ro 3:13)); Any poisonous snake, or even poisonous snakes in general, would satisfy the context in all the passages cited. Pethen is also translated ADDER (which see) in Ps 58:4; 91:13. Most authors have supposed the Egyptian cobra (Naia haje, L.) to be the snake meant, but while this is widely distributed throughout Africa, its occurrence in Southern Palestine seems to rest solely on the authority of Canon Tristram, who did not collect it.

There are Other poisonous snakes in Palestine, any one of which would satisfy the requirements of these passages. See SERPENT. While the aspis of classical Greek literature may well have been the Egyptian cobra, it is to be noted that Vipera aspis, L., is confined to central and western Europe.

Alfred Ely Day